Goodbye Paradise
by Mall-Rat123
Summary: The virus came, it ravaged, it went. It wasn't just the lives of the kids in the Mall Rats homeland that were affected, many others lost their loved ones, all they held dear, they too had too fight for survival. Goodbye Paradise is a different, much harsher perspective of a world without adults and hopefully it's just as thrilling and tense as its wonderful predecessor.


The news reader fidgeted nervously whilst a team of makeup artists huddled around her like little worker bees' in order to make sure she looked her very best for the broadcast, however, not even the best makeup applier would be able to hide what she was thinking, what the whole world was thinking. People were getting sick, the whole country was getting sick. There were reports coming in from Scotland, Wales and even Ireland of sickness ravaging peoples immune systems, some rumours had suggested that certain sufferers of this unexplained illness had perished, their bodies not able to withstand the mystery virus trampling their life force. Of course, these rumours had been dismissed by the Government as nonsense and covered up but the seeds of doubt had already been planted and the world was not happy. Rioting had broken out on the streets, the emergency services were being pushed to their limit with the endless fires and medical situations along with the crime rate rising by a massive margain. The government itself was under siege and the armed forces had been called in to liberate the Prime Minister and his cabinet from the endless crowd of haters, willing to string them up by their ankles or much worse. They had released a cover story, that the new virus that people were suffering from was an aggressive strain of the flu but the public had quickly guessed it not to be true with conspiracy theorists insisting it to be the work of biochemical warfare sent from a hostile country to rain down upon the British citizens but others, particularly those who had relatives in other countries had revealed that they too were the victims of this potentially lethal plaque. America, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, all of them were sending reports via emails to their british loved ones that they too were suffering. The most curious thing of all seemed to be the fact that whilst the adults were suffering illness, the young seemed to be in a good state of health. At the news station, they had been particularly vocal about the governments wrong doing and had expressed it through a mass amount of news coverage whilst other stations had seemingly been silenced, now even they had been silenced by the government. However, suddenly changing their tune would raise public suspicion so they were encouraged to continue with their badmouthing whilst placing the blame on to another party. Now the news reader was ready to go live and address the public with the bogus story formulated by the government whilst a handful of soldiers positioned themselves behind the camera crew with their guns pointed in case the news reader decided to go off script.

_**"**__****__**Good evening, this is the news at twelve with me, Adelina Conway..."**_

Her face and voice were beamed directly in to peoples living rooms, all over the country but none seemed to be watching. In one household, the family were distracted by the commotion going on from outside their windows and when checking the source, they had witnessed an angry mob gathering and beginning to destroy the infastructure of all the shops on the street.

_**"**__****__**In breaking news, riots have broken out in locations all over the country in retaliation against the government."**_

In a flat, another family were crying and shouting desperately and the father pressed his weight up against the front door to prevent an unseen figure from entering.

_**"**__****__**The Government have no further comments regarding the virus other than to say that provisions are being put in to place."**_

In a local pub, the locals were all growling and shouting angrily whilst helping the solitary barmaid defend the venue and the stock from a group of brutal looking men intent on trashing the place and taking the alcohol and cash for themselves.

_**"**__****__**They have announced an evacuation order for all the youths under the age of sixteen to be transferred to remote facilities to be cared for and kept isolated until the new epidemic has passed.**_

On a council estate, a teenage girl was crying in fear and desperation as she hid behind the sofa in her family flat, her front door was wide open and she could see her father in the distance, along with a number of men from the estate, wrestling against some squaddies who were intent on taking the youths away to isolation. The girl was oblivious to the words of the newsreader as a woman raced in, slamming the front door behind her.

"Listen to me love, you've got to go." the woman said, tears were forming in her eyes as she brushed her ruffled hair from out of her face.

"I don't want to go with the squaddies mum, please." the girl cried out.

"You're not, not over my dead body anyway. You're gonna go and hide, up in the hills where you and your cousins used to play in the summer. Until that lot have gone and then we'll come and get you, okay?" the flabbergasted woman said, pulling her daughter from behind the sofa.

"I'm scared, mum." the girl pressed her head in to her mother.

"You'll be fine, now get gone, your dad and his mates won't be able to hold them off forever." she demanded, her voice stricken with horror as she heard the sound of her husbands screams, presumably being outmatched by his military trained opponents. The front door suddenly flew open, slamming in to a wall full of family photographs and sending them crashing to the floor. The girls eyes widened with fear as her mother jumped towards the living room door, she was just about to shut it when a soldier merely pushed through and shoved her effortlessly to the floor. The teenage girl tried to run to her mother but the squaddie clamped on her with a heavy grasp, pulling her up in to a firemans lift and turned to exit the flat. Hopeless and resigned to being dragged away, the girls tears ran freely as she spotted her dad on the floor with a bloody nose and her mum running desperately after her.

_**"**__****__**The Government are asking for full cooperation during the evacuation procedures..."**_

Eventually, the cameras stopped rolling and the newsreader breathed a sigh of relief as the soldiers lowered their guns and nodded. Feeling sick with guilt, Adelina Conway looked down for a minute, examining her hands which had developed scabs before looking up and asking nervously.

"Do you think they bought it?"

()

The girl looked round uneasily, her eyes darting manically out of fear that something or someone leaping out at any moment. The whole place was a mess, it seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry as vehicles stood unparkers, doors wide open, whilst pieces of metal were just left around carelessly. Anybody could have come along and stolen it, not that anybody would want too, not since the carnage took hold and changed everything. The girl was medium height with dark skin, her dark and wild hair spilled out in to a barnet of ringlets and her makeup was impeccable, her clothing was also in good form, minus a few tears. The girl's name was Veronique and the fear expressed on her face suggested that she wasn't coping very well, she had found herself in a scrapyard and was waiting nervously, biting her lip and fidgeting with her hands. Veronique was not on her own, three males accompanied her, one was sat nearby drinking a bottle of water with a blank expression before being snapped out of his daydream by another tall male, with a skin head and an eye piercing, snatching the bottle from his grasp. The third was stood on a metal platform, he too looked nervous but had managed to maintain some composure compared to Veronique.

"Are you sure this is the place, Tanner?" Veronique asked, almost manically.

"I'm sure." The skin head male with the eye piercing said simply, taking another swig of the water after speaking.

"Maybe you heard wrong, maybe it's the wrong place or the wrong day." she eyed him with uncertainty.

"What, are you deaf? I said I'm sure didn't I?" Tanner barked at Veronique causing her to jump slightly, the male sat nearby tried to comfort her by placing his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.

"Tanner knows what he's doing." the male spoke, trying to ease Veronique's nerves.

"Trust you to take his side, Jughead!" the third male spoke, jumping down from the metal platform and edging closer to Tanner, the male named Jughead and Veronique.

"I'm not taking sides, Fallout, I'm just trying to settle Ronnie down." Jughead spoke, in a nervous grunt.

"Settle down? I'm not a child and my name is not Ronnie, it is Veronique!" the girl scolded him.

"Sorry." Jughead spoke, almost embarassed.

"Shut up, all of you, I'm trying to think." Tanner rubbed his temples, looking thoughtful.

"Go on then, tell us your masterplan." Fallout walked closer to Tanner, as if to provoke him.

"Get out of my face." Tanner said in a warning tone.

"Okay then, i'll take a guess shall I? You sell your soul to the devil and the rest of us get slaughtered whilst you go playing Vesper with the big boys, am I right?" Fallout said, the sound of Tanner's grunting seemed to fuel Fallout's mission to wind him up even more.

"I said get out of my face!" Tanner's tone was acidic.

"Or else what?" Fallout faced up to him.

"Stop it the both of you! Tanner isn't going to let anything bad happen to us." Veronique jumped up between them.

"Is that right?" Fallout eyed him with mistrust.

"That's right." Tanner smiled unconvincingly, he had never been a fan of Fallout, never since the day they were reunited when he and Jughead had stumbled across Fallout and Veronique hiding out in an old pharmacy. They had all known each other from childhood, hanging around on the local park and later smuggling alcohol from their homes to drink there. Fallout and Tanner hadn't really crossed paths during those times at the park but ever since the pharmacy, he had been a pain in Tanner's backside and the time had come from him to deal with the problem. On the other hand, Tanner had been good friends with Jughead and had numerous romantic encounters in the form of snogs with Veronique, he didn't mind their company. Of course, that all depended on the outcome of what he had planned. The three of them were expendable and Tanner could happily live his life without them, if the situation called for it, although he wouldn't let them know that until it was too late for them to realise.

()

The sound of motorbikes' roaring engines echoed through the sprawling city centre, drowning out the noise of burning, debris falling and the groans of twisting metal as numerous stores raged with endless fire. Torched by wreckless children out of sheer boredom, with any luck there would be nobody inside but if there was, they had no hope, the fire service would not be racing to put out the flames, no firefighters would be breaking their way through to rescue anybody, they were on their own. A girl, about fourteen to fifteen years old, watched with disgust from a spot behind an upturned car. This girl had jet black hair, tied back with her hair spilling out of the elastic band in a messy mop and wore a black coat with a simple black vest, black leggings and steel capped boots, a dark green back pack was situated on the ground next to her and was held firmly in her grasp. She quickly gestured with her hands as a blonde haired male wearing a navy blue coat and black jeans ran urgently towards her.

"You are an idiot" she scolded him.

"How could you bring us here, of all places?" she finished before punching him in the arm.

"Relax Tia, I've got everything under control." the blonde said with a grin, judging by his face, he seemed to be the same age as the girl named Tia and as he glanced around carefully, she scowled.

"Under control? This is the waste, Seth! The Death Zone! No one comes here." Tia was outraged.

"It's the only way out, all the other roads lead in to territory belonging to all the different factions. This is the only way we stand a chance, we'll be out of this dump in no time." Seth smiled, Tia almost smiled too, she couldn't stay mad at him but she could pretend too, at least until they were at a safe distance from the hidden terrors which were possibly lurking around them.

The waste or death zone, which Tia was referring too, was a vast section of wasteland. Once a thriving city centre, filled with numerous shops, restaurants and bars or clubs where the locals would appear on a weekend to spend until their hearts' content or to get hideously drunk with copious amounts of alcohol, the place had since become a place of fear and where no one would ever set foot if they could help it. It had been that way ever since the devastation, angry kids had torn it apart in many different ways they could think off, in order to vent their frustration but even then, some people still made their way through. The arrival of the savages soon put a stop to the youths' unruly visits which, in turn, created a new threat and another reason for the populace to stay away. The savages themselves were a complete mystery, no one seemed to know anything about them and those that did ended up being claimed and savaged as well. A few childish theories suggested that they were aliens, others pointed towards them being adults who had been mutated because of the after effects of the devastation, turned in to vicious and brutal monsters, willing to slay the young or claim them as another for their disfigured army of undead creatures. Quite an interesting myth had been developed around their existence, in such a short space of time, some kids weren't even sure that there was a time before the savages, although they were considerably younger during the events leading up to hell on earth. Every so often, curiosity would get the better of people, particularly those belonging to the big gangs and factions, so they would take a real close look, which seemed to frighten the savages away, the savages only seemed to approach the smaller groups or individuals who roamed the streets alone.

"There are savages around here, do you want them to catch us?" Tia's expression softened from anger to concern.

"If we're careful..." Seth began before Tia clamped her hand over his mouth and pulled him further behind the car and out of sight, she then peered over the car slightly as a convoy of motorbikes sped through the streets, all of them being driven by what appeared to be lunatics. However, no sooner had they arrived, they disappeared again.

"If I end up dead because of you..." Tia began to trail off in a rant whilst Seth was suddenly overcome with fear, blocking out her words of warning and anger as he began trying to mouth something, his nerves prevented him from actually speaking, he then started tapping furiously on Tia's shoulder.

"You are too wreckless... what? What are you tapping me for?" Tia spoke angrily, Seth did not speak however, he merely continued to mouth words whilst pointing and as Tia turned her head, she recoiled in horror. A white haired creature, covered in blood and scars with a revolting odour stared her right in the eyes with its own distorted, wild stare and before she could compose a scream, Seth pulled a brick in to his grasp before launching it at the creature and pulling his friend to her feet.

"Savage!"

()

The council estate was strewn with litter and graffiti, burnt out cars and destroyed buildings completed the image and, aside from the odd animal scurrying around, it was deserted but as the male stood intently on top of a third floor balcony, he remained vigilant in case the terrors or savages crept in to the estate he once called home. The sound of motorbike engines did not stir him from his gaze as he knew they wouldn't waste their time turning up at this place, the sounds of moaning did stir him and he rushed in through the open door of a flat to check what the matter was.

Inside the front room, a girl sobbed uncontrollably as she clutched her stomach, she was visibly pregnant and by the size of her bump was probably in the final stages of pregnancy. She wasn't crying about that, well mostly not. Instead she was crying because of the state of her childhood home, a home that her mother and father had scrimped and saved to make comfortable and lovely, was now in a state of ruin, targeted by the presumed looters in the wake of her parents death. A family portrait had been shattered and ripped and the girl wept desperately as she tried to piece the photograph back together, it was in vain and she eventually gave up before letting out a wail.

"What is it? Orla, what's the matter?" the male appeared in the room, closing the door behind him and setting himself down next to her on the sofa, placing his hand protectively on her bump.

"Is it the baby?" he asked gently.

"I want my mum." Orla buried her head in to the males neck, tears soaking him as she continued to cry.

"I know you do, I do too..." his attempts at comfort were suddenly distracted by the sound of metal scraping the pavement outside, as if it had been kicked, the male made a hushing motion before gently standing up and creeping over to the window.

"Pip?" Orla called out.

"Quiet" he demanded.

"What is it?" she persisted.

"I said be quiet... Easter Boys!" the male named Pip said before ducking down and Orla's eyed suddenly widened with fear, she went to duck as well before Pip motioned for her to stay put. She was scared witless but that was something normal these days and now, like every other time, Orla looked in fearfully as Pip did what he did best, protected her. Pip was the strong and rugged yet silent type, with dishevelled hair and a bandana to hold it down, he also wore a coat with fur lining the hood. Orla had a mop of golden curly hair, pinned up on the top of her head and she wore a red hooded jacket with one of her mums unflattering and old maternity dresses along with a pair of black boots. Pip was so independent and carefree, why the hell he was helping Orla baffled her but she appreciated it nonetheless, he was ever so good at outsmarting and outrunning those that meant them harm. Orla only hoped that he was clever enough to keep them from the clutches of the 'Easter Boys' or god knows what would happen.

()

Tia panted heavily as she came to a stop at the entrance of the old train station, Seth wasn't far behind and he too was out of breath, rustling through his back pack for a well needed drink.

"That was a close one, do you think it followed us?" Tia said, taking the bottle Seth had passed to her with as much gratitude she could muster.

"You know those things can't travel that fast, I think we're safe." Seth said before taking a gulp out of the bottle he had retrieved for himself and screwing the lid back on.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better, this place is bad news." Tia passed him the bottle back, wiping a stray splash of water from her chin.

"I can't wait to get to the coast, we're going to have a much better lifestyle." Seth began daydreaming.

"Yeah, well we're not there yet pal, I think we should find somewhere to rest... start out again in the morning." Tia responded, finally breathing properly again.

"Come on T, if we don't go now..." he protested.

"I'm not saying we're not leaving, I just think we should start out earlier before any of the freaks or savages wake up, then we won't have to do as much running, I'm so sick of running." Tia replied with a definite look, she had made up her mind and there was nothing Seth could do to change it. With a quick nod from Seth, Tia pointed at the entrance to the railway station. Little did the pair realise that they were being watched, watched all the way until they reached the entrance and disappeared inside and only then, did the watchers start to advance.

()

No one had spoken since the words exchanged between Tanner and Fallout, silence had taken hold and the four of them were all sat in close proximity, simply waiting for what ever was about to happen. The silence was almost beautiful and Veronique was particularly enjoying the serenity of the piece, it seemed to be calming her nerves. Then Jughead began to do a click clock sound with his tongue, breaking the silence and causing an irritable Veronique to hit him on the arm.

"Stop it." she hissed, Jughead made a grumbling sound as his way of apology and just as the silence fell once more, the sound of motorbikes were heard and they were close, very close.

"Is it them?" Fallout jumped to his feet, Jughead and Veronique followed suit, Tanner remained seated until the motorbikes rode in to view.

"It could be savages." Veronique jumped to her feet in haste.

"It's them alright." Tanner smiled, deliberately ignoring the girl whilst Jughead and Fallout looked uneasy and Veronique looked positively alarmed.

"Vespers."

The Vespers were an unpleasant bunch indeed, they were feral, mismatched and downright ugly. Their style was a mixture between gothic and rock star in design, with markings and piercings that would make a tattoo parlour proud. Their eyes emulated evil, ruthlessness and emptiness, an odd combination if there ever was one but chilling nonetheless. The bikes suddenly ground to a halt and as the males and females dismounted their bikes, playfully punching and grappling with each other as they did so, they were sure to part for the head of their pack to get through. The leader was a medium sized male, he too wore clothing of gothic and rock stair style and he had long bleach blonde hair with two lip piercings, he was flanked by a female, she too had bleach blonde hair but it was short and almost pixie like, she wore a jet black waist coat with metal adornments and metallic leggings. She licked her lips lustfully as the leader kissed her passionately before dismounting the bike they had rode on. Veronique was tempted to pull an expression of disgust but decided against it as the leader and his girlfriend moved forward towards the group. Tanner also moved forward whilst Veronique, Fallout and Jughead remained rooted to the spot on which they were stood.

"Alright, Daimler, me old mate, how's it going?" Tanner addressed the leader, hoping to receive a warm reaction, instead Daimler remained cold and motionless, his wild looking girlfriend eyed him maliciously.

"Did you have to travel far?" Tanner persisted with his conversation starter but still received nothing.

"Anyway, like I said to your buddy, I'm more than willing to join the Vespers. We're more than willing to join the Vespers." Tanner was careful to point out his three companions.

"Join us?" Daimler suddenly spoke, his girlfriend looked at him affectionately.

"Did you hear that, Pansy? He wants to join us." the rocker finished with a mocking tone, his girlfriend eyed him with a frenzy.

"Well... yeah, that's what we discussed." Tanner said nervously, his confidence vastly slipping away. Daimler eyed him for a moment, considering what he had said before turning to his girlfriend and breaking out in to a fit of manic laughter, his girlfriend also began laughing and soon the entire group had joined in, as if they were performing some psychotic chorus.

"So is that a yeah?" Tanner asked uncertainly and all of a sudden the laughter stopped.

"We don't take requests" Daimler's voice was cold once more and within a split second, Tanner had lunged at him and punched him on the nose before turning on his heel and making a run for it and as Daimler and the Vespers were taken off guard, Tanner's three companions felt a very serious need to begin running themselves before the vengeful and blood thirsty Vespers caught up with them.

()

Tia and Seth made their way through the old station very carefully, ensuring they literally did not put a foot out of place in case their were others inside who's attention was drawn to them. Navigating in to the cafe area, they quickly ground to a halt as they heard chatter and they were about to turn and leave when all of a sudden a voice rang out, frightening them out of their skins.

"It's alright, you can come in." Tia and Seth turned round to be faced with a younger girl who was smiling back at them and as the pair looked over her shoulder, they had noticed two other younger kids, a boy and a girl along with an older girl who was about their age if not slightly older. Seth seemed slightly concerned whilst Tia looked on at the frightened looking older girl and the kids with sympathy.

"My name is Faye, what's yours?" the girl spoke once more, extending her hand out and both Tia and Seth looked at each other before turning back to face the girl in front of them. Tia went to accept the hand but Seth placed his arm in front of her, blocking the way.

"Could be a trap" he muttered.

"Why would we want to trap you?" the girl spoke, having heard every word of Seth's feeble attempt to keep her and the others from hearing. The older girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat before rising to a standing position.

"This isn't a trap." Tia said softly, smiling at Faye as she pushed Seth's arm out of her path and took the youngsters had to shake.

"You can't be sure." Seth said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"We'd be dead by now if it were." Tia gently released Faye's hand and moved to address the others.

"My name is Tia, what's yours?" Tia smiled encouragingly at the others, the other kids didn't seem phased but the older scared girl pondered for a moment before a look of relief washed over her features.

"You're going to regret this." Seth muttered once more.

"Again with the whispering!" Tia scolded and Seth sighed as Tia took the older girls' hand and began to chat away.

()

Tanner ran as fast as he could, struggling for air as he ducked and dived, weaving in and out of every door and alleyway to avoid his pursuers. Jughead, Fallout and Veronique were a short distance behind him, they too struggled for breath and they were in a rage, a rage at the Vespers for revoking on their apparent deal, angry at their thugs for chasing them and angry at Tanner for placing them in harms way in the first place. Tanner was absolutely furious, rage and heat flushed his face but he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he struggled to think of the nearest place to hide.

"In here." Fallout called out, Tanner span suddenly to the sound of his voice and realised the male had stopped and he was pointing at a metal doorway. Veronique was already one step ahead and had raced back towards Fallout, disappearing from sight. Jughead raced through the doorway after her quickly followed by Fallout whilst Tanner was the last to reach the doorway, slamming the huge metal door behind him with a rush of pure adrenaline. The Vesper thugs appeared on the same street only moments later, running straight past the doorway, unaware that their targets had been their seconds before.

Through the actual doorway itself, the sound of metal slamming was still echoeing and sending vibrations through the walls. Wherever Tanner and his companions had sought refuge was almost pitch black and stank of damp, the only source of light in their grimey little hole was at the end of a huge tunnel in the far distance.

"Where the hell are we?" Veronique shrieked, only for Tanner to forcibly place his hand over her mouth, gagging her.

"Shut up." he hissed in to her ear which caused her to yelp.

"Let her go, you're hurting her." Fallout lunged at Tanner, yanking his grip off Veronique and pulling her away.

"I said shut up!" Tanner hissed once more.

"There could be Vespers on the other side of that door." he finished, bringing his index finger to his lips, which proved ineffective since all four of their individual visions were partially impaired by the darkness. The other three somehow managed to receive the hint and they remained silent, waiting for Tanner to eventually speak and tell them what to do next. After what seemed like hours had passed, the silence was eventually broken.

"Right, I think we're safe." Tanner spoke with relief.

"This place stinks." Veronique grumbled angrily, pulling the sleeve of her coat to cover her noise and mouth.

"Trust you, Tanner." Fallout snapped whilst Jughead shifted uneasily on his feet, it was only a matter of time before Tanner took a swing for this guy.

"What?" Tanners' tone was scornful.

"Getting us in to yet another one of your messes." In broad day light, Fallout would not have thought twice about squaring up to the skin headed man but in dark, he remained rooted to the spot where he stood.

"It was you that brought us here." Tanner snapped, unlike Fallout, he felt brave enough to lunge out in the darkness, if anything it would improve his chances of causing some damage. Fallout just needed to keep speaking, Tanner would surely flip.

"It was you that got us in to that hot mess with the Vespers." Fallout's tone was pure venom.

"They're lunatics, absolute psycho's. They won't stop until they have ripped us all apart, limb by limb." the air froze with tension and not for the anticipated fight between the argueing males but because of the reminder of the harsh threat which Tanner had managed to thrust upon them. The self appointed leader of the group pondered for a moment, the words of Fallout were truth and now he didn't have a chance with the Vespers, he needed to make it right or Jughead and Veronique were sure to side against him.

"Well I'm sorry aren't I? Let's just get the hell out of here, we can decide what to do next after we get back to warehouse." his tone feigned sincerity.

"That's where you made contact with the Vesper scout, that will be the first place Daimler will look." Jughead surprised everyone, he had kept silent since the scrapyard. Veronique let out a theatrical sigh.

"Well I'm not staying here!" her voice was firm.

"Where exactly is here?" Tanner tried to divert the conversation from his guilt to Fallout's choice of hiding place.

"I'm not sure, I haven't been to this part of town in a long time. I think it's part of the death zone." Fallout regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

"The death zone!" Veronique's voice was shrill.

"The savages live in the death zone." Jugheads' tone was filled with concern, he could feel his body twitching with nerves.

"Let's just get out of here." Tanner almost barked.

"There's a light up there." Fallout foolishly pointed, remembering it to be a pointless task, he then began to walk in the direction the light was coming from, not sure if the others were following his lead or still remaining in the darkness.

()

Through what seemed to be an endless conversation from Seth's perspective, the pair of them had sat down with Faye, the other two children and the older girl, sharing what little food they had and sharing stories of how they had come to be in the train station. The older girl had identified herself to Seth and Tia as Lilibet, she was a tall girl, at least in comparison to Tia and she had short length ginger hair. The clothes Lilibet wore were in tatters and Tia was unsure whether it had actually been an outfit or a mismatch of materials hastily sewn together. The other two children were named Sable and Benno, a pair of kids who were joined at the hip and claimed they were siblings despite having no blood relation at all. The only similarity the kids shared was there dirt brown hair colour, which was probably down to lack of a good wash, along with a similarity in height. Lilibet explained to the older pair that she had been in a childrens home, prior to the devastation and Sable had lived there with her. They had been transported by the military to the designated isolation camps which is when they happened to meet Benno. When Lilibet and Sable chose to return to the childrens home, taking Benno along with them, they had met Faye wandering the streets alone and encouraged her to stay with them as they returned. The four of them stayed at the home for a good while, out of the way of the savages and the warring kids but eventually they had been forced to run when a gang of kids, who called themselves the Easter Boys, turned up and started destroying the place. The four of them had been forced to run, eventually coming across the train station and hiding out.

"No one comes here, to the death zone that is because of the savages and so far, they haven't turned up." Tia nodded as Lilibet rounded off her explanation.

"Have you ever tried making an escape to the coast?" Seth piped up, staring at Tia with a hint of sarcasm lining his face.

"If I hear one more word about that sodding coast..." Tia began, suddenly making a hand motion for everyone to be quiet as she slowly rose to her feet. Lilibet's expression of calm quickly switched to fearful as Seth also began to rise.

"Is there someone here?" Seth spoke but Tia quickly motioned for him to be quiet.

"Please, I don't want any trouble." Lilibet said, quickly rushing over to where Faye, Sable and Benno were chattering away.

"We aren't going to make trouble." Seth spoke with a confused tone.

"I think the lady is referring to us!" came a voice. Tia and Seth suddenly span around. Lilibet was indeed addressing another as their eyes rested on a doorway which had otherwise gone unnoticed and a male and female hovered in the doorway as two other males edged closer. Seth began to reach in to his pocket as Tia discreetly clenched her fists.

"Now... who do I have to kill in order to get some food around here?" the male spoke.

"He's reaching for something, Tanner." the male in the doorway called out.

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you, not if you want to keep those fingers." Tanner called out to the blonde male across the room with a devious smile upon his face. The light at the end of their hiding place had led Tanner, Jughead, Fallout and Veronique straight to the jackpot and Jughead's stomach unmistakeably rumbled as the four of them noticed the small amount of food spread across the tiny table.

"Get lost." Tia's entire body was tensing upon the arrival of these new faces, she sensed that they, unlike Lilibet and the kids, meant to do them harm.

"Who might you be?" Tanner licked his lips, earning himself a scowl from Veronique, as he eyed up the feisty girl in his view. The girl was a bit butch in style compared to Veronique and the other girl who had shyed away but her pretty face, petite frame and ample cleavage made her very desirable indeed.

"Ginger Spice!" Tia snapped. Veronique seethed as Tanner burst in to a fit of laughter, encouraging Jughead to join in with him.

"Looks like we've got a feisty one, a real piece of work you are." Tanner's smile suddenly disappeared from his face.

"Pity you won't stay conscious to find out properly." it was Tia's turn to smile.

"I'll break you first." Tanner moved forward suddenly causing Seth to flinch before lunging at Tanner with an aggressive expression but Tanner was quick and shoved him in to a stack of chairs. Tanner then made a gesture for Jughead to join him, Fallout and Veronique made their way towards Lilibet and the children, frightening them.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Tanner spoke, making a grab for Tia. The girl managed to duck out of the way before delivering a swift kick to his leg and sending him tumbling to the ground, she went to punch him in the face before Jughead reached down and pulled her in to his grip, restraining her with ease.

"You stupid cow." Tanner sneered, struggling to get back to his feet because of the pain souring through his leg.

"Why don't you face me one on one, tell your ape to stand down." Tia shouted angrily, trying to resist the powerful hold which Jughead had on her.

"Why? I've already won, you stupid b..." he was immediately cut off by the looks of sheer panic which appeared on both Tia and Jughead's faces.

"Tanner, look... savages." Fallout called from behind, his own voice laden with terror and before Tanner even had the chance to react, the room was suddenly alive with activity and panic as a whole horde of savages came streaming in to the room. Seth looked up from his position on the floor, his own eyes widened with fear as he noticed that they were surrounded, the savages were entering from all the entrances... apart from the one which the oppressors entered previously, he then began fumbling in his pocket once more before retrieving a lighter.

"Tia get my back." he called out and Tia immediately complied, pushing past the frozen Jughead as the savages crept closer. Pulling open the packpack, Tia knew what to get immediately and quickly produced a bottle of clear liquid, tossing it to Seth before running for the only free exit.

"I suggest you guys get out of here as well, or stay, I don't give a damn." Seth jumped to his feet, shaking the bottle as he did and opening it briskly before tossing it and as the contents began fizzing all over the floor, Seth flicked his lighter switch and tossed it before lunging for the same exit that Tia left through.

"Fizzer Bomb!"


End file.
